Jurisdiction of general sessions courts

In addition to the jurisdiction in criminal cases as conferred in §§ 16-15-401 and 16-15-501, the court of general sessions is vested with jurisdiction to try and determine and render final judgment in all misdemeanor cases brought before the court by warrant or information where the person charged with the misdemeanor enters a plea of guilty in writing or requests a trial upon the merits and expressly waives an indictment, presentment, grand jury investigation and jury trial. The waiver shall be in writing as provided in Rule 5 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. In such cases, the trial shall proceed before the court without the intervention of a jury, and the court shall enter judgment, and, as an incident thereto, may inflict punishment within the limits provided by law for the particular offense as the court may determine proper under the peculiar circumstances of the case.